"Is there a God who is powerful, personal and loving? Does such a God exist?" Perhaps a little surprising, many people believe in God not out of desperation or wish fulfillment, but as an honest response to the compelling facts before them.
If a person opposes the possibility of there being a God, then any evidence can be rationalized or explained away. When it comes to the possibility of God's existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God. On the other hand, for those who want to know God if He is there, He says, "You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, says the Lord."
1. Throughout history, in all cultures of the world, people have been convinced there is a God. Could one say with any sense of confidence that all those people have been mistaken? Billions of people, who represent diverse sociological, intellectual, emotional, educational makeups . . . all came to the same conclusion that there is a Creator, a God to be worshipped. "Anthropological research has indicated that among the farthest and most remote primitive people today, there is a universal belief in God. And in the earliest histories and legends of people all around the world, the original concept was of one God, who was the Creator. An original high God seems once to have been in their consciousness even in those societies which are today polytheistic."
2. The complexity of our universe, our solar system and our planet Earth all point to a knowing, deliberate Designer who not only created our universe, but sustains it today. Pages and pages of examples showing God's design could be given here, possibly with no end. But here are a few:
The Earth . . . its size is perfect. The Earth's size and corresponding gravity holds a thin layer of mostly nitrogen and oxygen gases over the surface of the earth. Only extending about 50 miles above the Earth's surface, our atmosphere contains the right mixture of gases to sustain life. If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible, like the planet Mercury. If Earth were larger, its atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter. Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere appropriate for plant, animal and human life. The Earth is located exactly the right distance from the sun. Consider the temperature swings we encounter, roughly -30 degrees to +120 degrees. If the Earth were any further away from the sun, we would all freeze. Any closer and we would burn up.
3. The human brain . . . simultaneously processes an amazing amount of information. Your brain takes in all the colors and objects you see, the temperature around you, the pressure of your feet against the floor, the sounds around you, the dryness of your mouth, even the texture of this article in your hand. In addition to all the sensory information, your brain recognizes emotional responses, ideas and memories. Your brain also keeps track of the ongoing functions of your body like your breathing pattern, eyelid movement, hunger and movement of the muscles in your hands. The human brain processes more than a million messages a second. Fortunately, your brain weighs the importance of all this data, filtering out the relatively unimportant. This screening function of the brain is what allows you to focus and operate effectively in your world. A brain that deals with more than a million pieces of information every second, while evaluating its importance and allowing you to act on the most pertinent information . How does one explain the existence of the human brain? Only a mind more intelligent and knowledgeable than humanity could create a human brain.
4.. The distinguished astronomer Sir Frederick Hoyle showed how even the amino acids randomly coming together in a human cell is mathematically absurd. Regarding our lives, Sir Hoyle illustrated the weakness of "chance" with the following analogy. "What are the chances that a tornado might blow through a junkyard containing all the parts of a 747, accidentally assemble them into a plane, and leave it ready for take-off? The possibilities are so small as to be negligible even if a tornado were to blow through enough junkyards to fill the whole universe!" When one considers the intricacies of our life and universe, it is reasonable to think that an intelligent, loving Creator provided for everything we need for life. The Bible describes God as the author and sustainer of life.
5. Humankind's inherent sense of right and wrong cannot be biologically explained. Even a thief gets upset and feels wronged when someone steals from him. There arises in all of us, of any culture, universal feelings of right and wrong. If someone violently grabs a child from a family and rapes that child, there is an anger and revulsion and a rage to confront that act as evil, regardless of the culture. Where did we get this sense of wrongness? And in areas like courage, dying for a cause, love, dignity, duty and compassion, where did these come from? If people are merely products of physical evolution, material and biological substances, why do we have a sense of rightness? How do we explain a universal law in the conscience of all people that says murder for fun is wrong? Do not all people sense that a humble spirit and a focus on meeting the needs of others are admirable qualities? Our conscience can best be explained by a loving Creator who cares about the decisions and harmony of humanity.
6. Archaeological findings continue to confirm the accuracy of the Bible, rather than refute it. For example, an archeological find in northern Israel in August 1993 confirmed the existence of King David, author of many of the Psalms in the Bible. The Dead Sea Scrolls and other archaeological discoveries continue to substantiate the historical accuracy of the Bible. The Bible was written over a 1500-year time span, by 40 different authors, in different locations and on separate continents, written in three different languages, covering diverse subject matters at different points in history. Yet there is an astounding consistency in its message.
7. Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God. Why Jesus? Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others. He said God exists and you're looking at Him. Though He talked about His Father in heaven, it was not from the position of separation, but of very close union, unique to all humankind. He claimed attributes belonging only to God. He did not say, "follow my words and you will find truth." He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me."
What proof did Jesus give for claiming to be divine? He did what people can't do. Jesus performed miracles. He healed people: blind, crippled, deaf, even raised a couple of people from the dead. He had power over objects: on at least a couple of occasions, he created food out of thin air, enough to feed crowds of several thousand people. He performed miracles over nature: walked on top of a lake, instantly stopped a raging storm for some friends. People everywhere followed Jesus, because He constantly met their needs, doing the miraculous. He said if you do not want to believe what I'm telling you, you should at least believe in me based on the miracles you're seeing.
Anyway, just thought I'd share this with you all.
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